A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 40

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 970

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His parents, Neil and Jessie (Campbell) Gillis, were natives of Scotland, but were married in the island of Cape Breton, province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The father came to the island in 1852, and there followed farming until he moved to Lake Linden, Michigan. Some years later the family came to Butte, where the father died in December, 1905, and where the mother is still living in great vigor and activity at the age of eighty-five years, and is one of the most revered elderly matrons of the city.

Mr. Gillis was married at Lake Linden, Houghton county, Michigan, in 1891, to Miss Bertha Schlichting, a native of that city and the daughter of Herman and Margaretha (Oseau) Schlichting, who were born in Germany, in the town of Osenberg. Mr. and Mrs. Gillis have two children: their son, Herman Donald, who was born in Butte in 1892, and is now a student at the State Agricultural College; and their daughter Clara Lucile, born in Butte, in 1894, and who is a graduate of the Butte high school.

Mr. Gillis is a thirty-second degree Freemason in the York and Scottish rites, and an active member of Bag- dad Temple, Mystic Shrine. He is also an Odd Fel- low, and has passed all the chairs in his Lodge in the order. In addition he belongs to the Butte Lodge of Elks, and has served as its Exalted Ruler, and is a member of the Engineers' Association, in which he has held all the prominent offices. Socially he is active in membership in the Silver Bow Club.

In politics he is a nronounced Republican, and has been three times chairman of the county central committee of his party in Silver Bow county. He is an active member of the Butte Chamber of Commerce, and is secretary of the Good Roads Congress of Montana, and in religious connection is a Presbyterian. He is fond of all outdoor sports and amusements, and for one year was president and owner of the Butte baseball team, which he sold in 1909.

In all the changes and exactions of his subsequent life this gentleman who is always true to his convic- tions and the claims of association, has never lost his interest in the miners of the country, or allowed it to become passive. He has always taken an active part in promoting their welfare, and in the hard fight they had several years ago with the American Federation of

Labor, he took a conspicuous position in favor of the workmen, risking his reputation and future prospects by his activity in their behalf, but rendering them highly valuable service. At the call of what he con- ceives to be his duty he never shirks or hesitates, but goes straightforward to the end to which the call leads him, whatever the personal consequences to him- self.

It is largely because of his sterling integrity and straightforwardness, his courage and his lofty man- hood that he is so highly esteemed all over the state of Montana. But his genial manner, obliging and courteous disposition, broad public spirit and progres- sive enterprise are also elements of magnitude in the case, and all combined have brought the people of the state to regard him as one of its best and most useful citizens, and made him one of its most popular and influential men.

WILLIAM E. NIPPERT. The life and experiences of William E. Nippert, clerk of the district court at Thompson Falls, Montana, presents an interesting study of the biographer. A member of an old and distinguished American family which for generations has numbered among its representatives eminent men in the various professions, he is himself a native of Switzerland, and during his life has traveled exten- sively in foreign countries and in various parts of the United States. He has been at times farmer, hunter, educator and politician, and in every relation of life has shown himself thoroughly capable of winning suc- cess and of being independent of outside aid. Mr. Nippert's father, the Rev. Lewis Nippert, a native of Paris, Kentucky, in early life moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was married to Adelaide Linderman. He was a noted educational and religious worker, and was sent as a foreign missionary by the Methodist church, spending more than thirty years of his life in Europe, where he was one of the first to establish that faith in various sections. He was for some years presi- dent of the Methodist College at Frankfort-on-the- Main, and while there, in 1869, his wife died at the age of thirty-two years. In 1890 Mr. Nippert returned to Cincinnati with his children, and there his death oc- curred August 17, 1894, when he was sixty-nine years of age. He was the founder of the Methodist hospital system in the United States, was of an extremely charitable nature, and really dedicated his entire life to his church and his fellow men. He and his wife had eight children, William E. being the fourth in order of birth.

William E. Nippert was born in Switzerland, May 7, 1861, and his early education was secured under pri- vate tutors in that country. He accompanied his father to Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, where he attended the preparatory schools, and subsequently traveled in Italy, Holland and other European coun- tries, and in Africa, and during this time learned to speak English, German and French fluently. When he was fifteen years old he was brought to the United States, and when he had resided in Cincinnati for one year was told by his father that if he could make his own way in the world for one year he would present him with a farm. Although he had already experi- enced far more adventures than fall to the ordinary youth, those that followed in the various occupations in which he was engaged in western Kansas were decidedly unique, and on more than one occasion, while "roughing and toughing it," he sat down to partake of a meal of his own preparation. Having fulfilled the terms of the agreement, young Nippert returned to his father's home and was presented with a farm of 240 acres in Iowa, where he at once settled down to try his skill as an agriculturist, and also experimented in horse speculation, but after one year decided he liad not yet found the field for displaying his abilities to

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the best advantage, and subsequently entered the Northwestern Normal School at Lamars, Iowa. On completing his three years of study in that institu- tion, Mr. Nippert came to Montana, and in 1889 set- tled in Helena, where he became a teacher in the Helena Business College. Subsequently he was an educator in the Episcopal school of St. Peter's for a short period, and then came to Thompson Falls and for seven years acted in the capacity of principal of schools. Later he started in speculating in mining properties, and for some years was secretary of the Kentucky-Montana Mining Company for three years, but eventually interested himself in politics, which has received his entire attention ever since. An ardent and active Republican, Mr. Nippert when still a young man served as recorder of the probate court in Cin- cinnati, his brother being judge of the court at that time. In Montana he has served as clerk of the school district, as a member of the city council of Thompson Falls, as deputy sheriff, and as a represen- tative of the Federal government in the judicial depart- ment, and is now acting as chief probation officer of Sanders county. For a time he acted as deputy clerk and recorder, and was then elected to the position of clerk of the district court, an office which he still retains. In fraternal matters Mr. Nippert is con- nected with Masonry and Oddfellowship, holding various offices in the latter, and is demonstrating his public spirit as a committee member of the Thompson Falls Development League.

Hunting and fishing have always been attractive to Mr. Nippert, and he has followed the former sport to the Canadian line, while as an angler he holds prestige as one of a party that in about five hours from the old limits of Indian territory clear through caught 540 trout just three miles from Thompson Falls. It is only natural that an accomplished lin- guist like Mr. Nippert should be a great reader and student. It may not be inappropriate to close this all too brief sketch of a man whose life has been spent in real accomplishment, to give his opinion of his adopted state. "After traveling all over Europe and the east, and making thorough observations," Mr. Nippert states, "Montana suits me, personally, best of all. I like its mountains and its valleys, its fine waters and its beautiful climate, its conditions and opportun- ities that are offered to young men, and last but not least the free, open-hearted democracy of its people."

IRWIN R. BLAISDELL. No vocation occupies a more prominent position among the learned professions than that of the lawyer. A man who is well versed in the laws of his state is always a recognized power. As a class such men are largely depended upon to conserve the best interests of the people, and without them and their practical judgment the work done by the busi- ness man and the mechanic, as well as the efforts of the statesman, would be incomplete. The professional lawyer is not the creature of circumstance, as the pro- fession is open to talent, and no definite prestige or success can be attained save by indomitable energy, perseverance, patience and strong mentality. At the same time the lawyer is well fitted to occupy positions of trust in the public field, as his legal training, his ability to concentrate his purpose and his wide knowl- edge of men fit him to discharge his duties faithfully and well, and so it is that men of this profession are so often chosen to represent the people. One of the lead- ing members of the bar of western Montana is Irwin R. Blaisdell, of Plains, who has occupied various positions of public trust and has shown himself to he an able attorney and conscientious official. Mr. Blaisdell was born July 22, 1872, in Champaign county, Illinois. His father, Tudson S. Blaisdell, a native of In- diana, removed to Illinois as a young man, and after a number of years of residence in the Prairie state mi-

grated to Texas, where he is now engaged in the grain business, although during his younger years he followed farming. He was married in Illinois to Miss Caroline Rockwell, who died in 1874, at the age of thirty years, and is buried in Champaign, Illinois. Three children were born to this union, of whom Irwin R., is the youngest, one sister, Mrs. Laura F. Wil- liams, residing in Idaho, while another, Alma L., for- merly a school teacher in Great Falls and Plains, mar- ried Rollin P. Skinner and now resides in Alabama.

The early education of Irwin R. Blaisdell was se- cured in the public schools of Champaign, and he later took a course in the academy at Paxton, Illinois, sub- sequently took a special course at Morris, became a student in the University of Illinois, at Champaign, and completed his studies in the Iowa College of Law, Des Moines. An industrious and enterprising lad, he earned his first money when only twelve years of age, hoeing broom corn in Illinois at a salary of fifty cents per day, and after this followed farming to some ex- tent and also identified himself with the grain business, until he decided to give his entire attention to the practice of law. When he was seventeen years of age he removed to Nebraska, where he worked on his uncle's farm for about a year, then becoming associated in the grain business with his father at Des Moines for a like period, and during the two years that fol- lowed carried on grain buying at Panora and Adel, Iowa. In 1893 he returned to Des Moines, where he remained for six years, during four years of which time he was employed as a collector for a transfer com- pany, and in 1896, while in the employ of this firm, entered the Iowa College of Law. He eventually re- signed his position to give his entire time to his studies and in 1898 was graduated from college, and during the same year was admitted to the bar. He first formed a partnership with C. E. Hunn, under the firm name of Hunn & Blaisdell, but after one year removed to North Dakota. Not being satisfied, he remained in that state only one year and then came to Montana, and for a short time resided in Butte, Granite and Philipsburg. In 1905, came to Plains where he has since built up a large and representative practice and taken a foremost position among the members of his profession.

Mr. Blaisdell takes an independent stand in political matters. While not an office seeker he believes it every good citizen's duty to accept the responsibilities of positions of public trust, and has served as city clerk, city attorney, alderman and chairman of the Plains school board and holds the latter position at this time. He is a valued member of the Plains Valley Commer- cial Club and an enthusiast on the subject of his adopted community, both as to climate and the opportunities offered young men of enterprise and energy. Baseball, driving and kindred sports find favor in his eyes, and he also greatly enjoys music, both instrumental and vocal. He possesses a large and valuable professional library and is a great student along the lines of economics, sociology and political sciences. He is widely and favorably known among his professional confreres' and is recognized for his ability as a lawyer and for the fidelity with which he adheres to the inter- ests of his clients in the courts.

On September 25, 1901, Mr. Blaisdell was married near Twin Bridges, Montana, to Miss Helen Page, daughter of James M. and Mary Page, of Twin Bridges, old pioneers of this section, the ceremony oc- curring in the little log house in which Mrs. Blaisdell was born. Two interesting children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Blaisdell: Mary Caroline, a bright stu- dent in the public schools; and James P., the baby, at home.

ELMER E. HERSHEY. When Peter Hershey was nine- teen years of age, his parents, with their family moved from New York state to Ohio where Mr. Hershey

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continued his practice of medicine. His father and his father's father before him had devoted their entire lives to the medical profession and it did not occur to him to consult the tastes of his young son before be- gining his professional studies. Like most men of his generation, he believed that the choice of career for the son was a matter for the cool judgment and mature years of the father to pass upon. To him there was but one choice for a Hershey. Peter, therefore, was sent to medical college at once, upon their arrival in Ohio. Perhaps he inherited his tastes from his mother's fam- ily, but be that as it may, the medical profession never appealed to him. He longed for the open country and the outdoor life. As soon as he was free to do for himself he forsook his enforced profession and procured a small farm. He married Elizabeth Bruner, an Ohio girl with tastes similar to his own and together they enjoyed the unhampered life of the country. To them, in April, 1862, was born a son, Elmer E. Hershey. The birth of the son in this memorable April probably ac- counts for Peter Hershey's feeling that the duty to his family came before the duty to his state.

His father and his wife's father had both been sol- diers in the War of 1812. The soldier blood in him must have often cried out that he too go to the front yet he remained at the side of the young mother and the infant son. When the war was at an end, Elmer was sent to the public schools of Ada, Ohio, and later to the Ohio Normal School. From this institution, in 1884, he received a degree of civil engineering and three years later the degree of M. S. was conferred upon him. Pethaps, once again, the son was influenced by the taste of the father for Elmer Hershey has never put to a practical test, his civil engineering. After graduating in Ohio, he taught for two years in that state and then went to Montana, teaching for several years in the Bitter Root valley at Stevensville and Skalkaho.

While still teaching he began the practice of law in the justice court. Often, too, he helped other attor- neys in the preparation of their cases for the district court. He had, at last, found the profession for which his taste and ability called him. If, as it has been said, an attorney's liking for the law may be measured by his success, Mr. Hershey must be indeed devoted to his profession. During the years of his irregular prac- tice-he was not formally admitted to the bar until 1891-he was most successful. It has been told con- cerning him, that when, without any special training, he tried his first forty-one cases, there were forty-one verdicts in his favor. He, however, adds that after being admitted to the bar, he lost the next forty-two. There is nothing more uncertain than the uncertainties of the law.

In 1889, Mr. Hershey entered the office of Judge Bick- ford at Missoula. His legal work was slightly inter- rupted in 1895 and '96 during which time he served a term in the Montana legislature. He remained, how- ever, in the office of Judge Bickford until '98 when the judge left Missoula for Butte. At this time he entered the land office as register which position he held for four years. Since the expiration of this term he has practiced law without interruption. His practice, at present, is not of a general nature as he is legal rep- resentative of the A. C. M. Company which leaves him little time for outside clients.

While still a struggling young attorney in Judge Bickford's office Mr. Hershey was married to Miss Belle Catlin, a daughter of Major J. B. Catlin and a native of the beautiful Bitter Root valley. Of the union two daughters were born, Elizabeth, the oldest came in the spring of '96 while Alice was born on Nov. 22, 1901. Both daughters are attending the Missoula schools.

Mr. and Mrs. Hershey are active members of the Christian church. For more than eleven years he has been one of the leading elders of the church. Since the

increase of his professional business, he has found little time for political activity. He is prominent but not active in his Masonic lodge circles and has never cared to unite with other secret orders.

A prominent corporation, attorney, a leader in his church and a Republican high in the party councils, leaves him little time for other interests aside from his home and family.

WILLIAM M. BLACKFORD. Illinois was the birthplace of William Blackford, and also of his father, James M. Blackford, who spent his entire life in White county, where he owned and operated a farm. Born in 1835, he lived only to the age of fifty-one, when he was laid to rest in the county where he had begun the course of his mortal life. His wife was English by birth, but met Mr. Blackford in Illinois where they were married and where their ten children were born. Cicely Spencer Blackford survived her husband nearly a quarter of a century, dying on March 3, 1911, at the age of seventy-three, when she was laid beside her husband.

William was the eldest of the Blackford children and was born on October 22, 1860. He grew up on the White county farm which his father had spent his life upon and received the wholesome training which farm life imposes on the oldest son of a large fam- ily. He became a wage earner at the age of fourteen hiring out to a neighboring farmer for fifty cents a day. Mr. Blackford attended school in Grayville and after he had graduated from the high school, he went to the National Normal University of Lebanon, Ohio, and there took his degree of B. S. In 1887, Mr. Blackford left Illinois and went to Oregon, as princi- pal of the grammar department of the public schools of the town of Jacksonville. He remained here only a year, before seeking a wider sphere of activity, In Oakland, California, he began the study of law in the office of Davis & Hill, both of whom were distinguished members of the California bar. He did not finish his preparation with this firm, however, but in 1889, came to Butte where he continued his studies and was admitted to the bar. Ever since that time Mr. Black- ford has practiced in this state, and the professional reputation which he has attained is one which any at- torney might well envy. Throughout this section of the state his work is known and he is at once familiar with all the technicalities of the law and the rulings of the courts, and a most skilful and adroit debater. In 1890, he left Butte to become clerk of the Mon- tana Code Commission at Helena, and while at the capital was associated with the former chief justice Wade. In February of 1894, he came to Lewistown and since then has practiced in this city. He gives his undivided attention to his law business, not even be- ing tempted by what is usually so alluring a game to lawyers-politics. Mr. Blackford is a thorough-going Democrat in convictions, but he is no politician, and certainly in his case, the results of this concentration upon the one matter in hand demonstrate the wisdom of his course, for few attorneys of the state enjoy a larger or a more lucrative practice.

Although Mr. Blackford refuses to engage in avoca- tions, he does not put a ban upon recreations, and there are few diversions in which he does not partici- pate with enjoyment, whether out of doors or within. Perhaps reading is his dearest pleasure, and certainly his fine library is one to beguile a person of literary taste into manufacturing leisure to browse in it. In the Masonic order, he is not only a member of the blue lodge, but also of the Shrine, which is some- times called the good-fellowship branch of the order. He was at one time master of the Lewistown lodge, No. 37, and after finishing a period of six years as a trustee, has recently been elected to the same position for a five-year term. He is also a member of the

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Judith Club, and so it is unnecessary to say that he is enthusiastic on the resources of Montana, particularly the Judith country.

On December 4, 1895, occurred the marriage of Wil- liam M. Blackford to Anna M. Otten, daughter of Herman and Elsie Otten of Fergus county. Six chil- dren have resulted from this union, all born in Lewis- town. Herman Otten Blackford is now attending St. John's Military Academy at Delafield, Wisconsin. Cecily Elise Blackford has graduated from the gram- mar school of Lewistown and is now attending high school. Anna Margaret, Ethel Eleanor and William Melville are all in the grades, while Helen Dorcas, the baby, has not yet begun her formal educational train- ing. Mr. and Mrs. Black affiliate with the Presby- terian church, in which, as wherever they are known, they are numbered with the generous workers and the cordially social, whose popularity is wide and firmly founded.

Mr. Blackford is not the only inember of his fam- ily to become expert in the law, as one of his broth- ers has won almost equal distinction in the northern part of this state. He has been in Libhy since 1899 and is well known throughout the Kootenai region.

JAMES M. INGRAM. About two and one-half miles from Belfry, Carbon county, on Clark's Fork river, is situated the handsomely improved ranch of James M. Ingram, who during the past fifteen years has carried on farming and cattle raising in this section, although he at present makes his home in Red Lodge, the county seat of Carbon county, Mr. Ingram being the incumbent of the office of under sheriff. He was born in North English, Iowa county, Iowa, February 23, 1870, and is a son of Thomas and Roxie (Powell) Ingram. His father, who was born in Indiana in 1845, received his education in the schools of Iowa, whence he had removed with his parents as a youth, and sub- sequently engaged in farming and stock raising and in buying and shipping cattle and horses to the Chicago market. In 1904 he retired from active business oper- ations and at this time makes his home at Ridgeway, Iowa. He is a Democrat in politics and a consistent church member. Mrs. Ingram, a native of Illinois, passed away in 1906, having been the mother of four sons : Frank, James M., Roy and Menzo.

James M. Ingram secured his education in the public schools of Marengo, Iowa, which he attended about nine months in the year, the other three months being devoted to work on his farther's farm, where he oh- tained valuable experience in the vocations of farming and cattle raising. At the age of nineteen years he left home and went to Nebraska, where he spent two or three months visiting his uncle, and then moved on to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he was employed for about four months as a cowboy for Jud Bristol. During the fall of 1889 he arrived in Butte, Montana, and sub- sequently he went to Whitehall, where lie was employed as a cowboy during the summer and winter of 1890. The next three months were spent as a cowboy on the Yellowstone river, near Livingston, after which he went to Yellowstone National Park, where he had charge of the conservatory department of the United States Department of the Interior, a position which he held for two years. Returning to Iowa on a visit to his old home, he was there married, and for about three years was in the stock business in partnership with his father, but in the spring of 1896 returned to Mon- tana, and engaged in ranching in Madison county for one year. At that time he took up government land in Carbon county, two and one-half miles from Belfry, on Clark's Fork river, where he still carries on ranch- ing and buying and selling cattle. Since his appoint- ment, in December, 1910, to the office of under sheriff of Carbon county, Mr. Ingram has made his home in Red Lodge, where he has a fine modern residence. He

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 40

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883- Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 970

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 970